


Old Solutions

by darundik



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Comparing Partners, Evil Wizards, F/M, Ficlet, Honeypotting, M/M, Sex for Favors, caleb widogast has a type and its 1) evil 2) wizard, under 1k
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:21:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25700503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darundik/pseuds/darundik
Summary: Caleb goes from one wizard’s arms to another.
Relationships: Astrid/Bren Aldric Ermendrud, Astrid/Caleb Widogast, Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58





	Old Solutions

She met him as an equal, pulling hair and biting hard on his lips, the threat inherent in her arcane hands. Information is one thing, but closeness was another. It felt too easy, to sink to his knees and hold onto her thighs, turn his head under her hand as he worked on her, a flash of a ghost from the past occupying his body and moving him. When he kissed up the scar on her neck, she ducked right with confident intention and left him behind. She reached out to grasp his shoulders, nails clawing into skin and he shivered in memory of her poisoned polish. She snarled, and claimed, ambition glaring its brightness, and he tried to reach beyond his ghost to her. 

They looked at each other after, bruised lips and scratches and exhaustion setting in on top of the layer of sated satisfaction strumming under their skin; the need for power achieved its goal and its accomplishment happily settled in their veins.

He looked at her and knew that he kept his honest self within the ghost, performing something out; her gaze felt detached, satisfied, like she just aced an exam. She reached out, tugging on a lock of hair that escaped his tie, and folded it in half between her fingers, like she was trying to cut it. The look of satisfaction held, but with a thought. Her gaze slid past him, even as she stared, as if calculating and planning how their future encounters would go; satisfied, but still hungry.

He turned on his side and shivered when glancing across her tattoos, and she ran her gaze down his scars, both intentional and battle-worn. Permission wanted but inherently not granted, the distance between them grew, aching like their wounds broken anew.

~*x*~

He knew he needed to get to Essek, slip under Essek’s stringent silver mask to get the hot unknown underneath. Caleb stepped closer, and closer, and closer, and Essek floated back, slowly solidifying to the wall behind him. The air thrummed with the magic barely contained under their skin, Essek’s obvious abilities lying in potential and purposefully held at bay; when his back hit the bookshelves, he dropped to the ground. Caleb looked across to Essek, who gazed up with eyes full of awe and lust and a certain rawness of need. As they kissed, Essek melted, and Caleb pushed forward, and Essek sighed, leaning his head back and leaving his neck open and accessible. Caleb picked him up and Essek’s legs immediately wrapped around his waist. Essek smiled, a wide-eyed energy betraying his surprise when Caleb grasped his ass; he held onto Caleb’s shoulder and neck tighter. He accepted when Caleb gave, met with equal pressure and then danced with, returned like when Caleb came up for air. 

When they lay beside each other, panting, before sweat could cool, Essek sidled up closer, dragging his fingers slowly intently through Caleb’s hair, his warm palm coming to a stop on Caleb’s stubbed cheek. Essek looked like the image of one debauched: hair amiss, bite marks slowly condensing on his collarbones, lips proudly parted.

His eyes followed his hand, arcing from Caleb’s hair, to his cheek, to his eyes, eyebrows steeped and mouth curved in gratitude and awe. 

Under that gaze, Caleb froze: that rawness scrubbed him raw as well. No need for walls of performance; simple sincerity, uncovered in its eager thaw. Caleb sighed, inched closer, kissed Essek on the nose. He’s tired of pretending; could stay here for now.

**Author's Note:**

> No shame, I like them all. Beta’s by the wonderful @GaubHefta; your comments help clear my thoughts. Title from “Bedroom Hymns” by Florence + the Machine.  
> Come talk to me abt evil wizards on Twitter/Tumblr @caltracat ;D


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